mmm.... stringy

Came home from work pretty knackered and down. Dunno why, but round about 4.30/ 5pm at the moment I start feeling really meh: really tired, bit depressed. Really haven't a clue why, but it could be because I'm not sleeping right, or just that I drink too much tea in the afternoon. A cup of coffee leaves me feeling pretty rough, so maybe 3 cups of tea does the same thing?
Anyway, not helped by having to come home from work and work on something else - another project I'm doing on a consultancy basis. Due to my lack of ability to motivate myself, I basically have to do an entire presentation in the next week.... whilst working full time somewhere else. So I'll end up doing it all this Sunday (my birthday, of all days). Booo.
Still, on t'other hand, I got home and found that a stack of CDs that I ordered over the weekend had arrived. Most notable among them was the best of the Shadows and the best of Dick Dale. Lots of surf guitar (and the local British equivalent - 'fish n chips on the pier guitar'? ), and it's great! Sure, it's the kind of thing my parents would love, but hey, I'm growing old er... messily. One of the others is MC Solaar - bit of a gamble, but I'll see if I like it. Cue one of those screwed up 'I don't liiiike it' faces beloved of little kids being told to eat their sprouts.

And no, I don't know what the Easter bunny's going to bring me for my birthday. Here's hoping it's a new MP3 player toy - got my eye on the new Creative Zen or the Sansa View. Fingers crossed.

Of weird people and mind going blank

I've had a mental block the last few days - stuff's been happening but I can't think of anything worth writing about. Possibly an amateur approach to blogging: people write a lot of junk about nothing and generate successful blogs, books and films out of it (most of Hollywood's 'romantic comedy' output, for starters...)

Actually, it's been a bit of a surreal few days really. Northern Rock goes all 'It's a Wonderful Life' on us, and people are queueing in the streets to get their money back. It does make you wonder, the way everyone's gone into 'ooh Mavis, quick, get our money out of the bank before we lose it', whether secretly the majority of the population really ARE that stupid, or whether they're just going along with it for a laugh. Although that also covers the media which, on Thursday night, led in ominous tones 'Our top story tonight...' before countering it with 'but don't panic', as if that would undo the panic they'd just instilled in the populace.

On top of that, Formula 1's gone all Machiavellian on us, with Alonso allegedly threatening to spill the beans if McLaren didn't make him driver numero uno, and then coming out with it all anyway. Am I alone in thinking Hamilton came out of it surprisingly squeakily clean, btw?
And personally... well, I've not slept properly in about 5 months, so I seem to spend a lot of time wandering around in something of a daze. And my short-term memory's shot as a result. So it all seems a little hazy round the edge, and those weird people you meet out and about really stand out even more.

Guh

This is my first blogged hangover. I guess it should be momentous, or something, but frankly I'm too tired and, well, hungover, to really be bothered. Woo, and indeed, hoo.
In a way I think you feel it more if it was unintended. When you only meant to go out for a couple of beers on the way home but stagger in at midnight, the hangover in the morning feels worse, like there's a bonus point for stupidity. Or is that just me? No... it's just me. What made it even worse was that I missed the football - I wouldn't really care, except it's the best they've played for about 3 years, and, let's face it for the next 3 years.
But on the plus side, since I've only been back working for a couple of weeks, and before that I wasn't working for 4 months, I really appreciate a quiet night in now, going to bed early and hot cocoa. It's like being hungover is giving me a glimpse of what it's like to be 65...

Dude, where's my interview?

So I have a job interview tomorrow - my second since coming back from travelling 6 weeks ago. I should be getting ready for it, but frankly it was hoisted on me by one of those infernal recruitment agencies. And not one of the good ones, either, but one of the ones that comes out with things like "Well, you're right that the job description is clearly asking for a high school dropout and includes the phrase 'ideally, someone with no ambition whatsoever', but they are flexible. You should go along, and see if you like it and with luck they can change the role to encompass your 7 years' experience in research and desire for people management". So I feel bad about being difficult and agree to go along. And at the interview, I basically come across as the equivalent of a grown man trying to get on the swings in the play area at the park - it's embarassing for me, embarassing for them and none of us know why I'm there.
Oh, and the worst part? The frickin agency woman hasn't even told me where the interview is or who with. I mean, this company has 4 large buildings, each with its own reception, and I haven't a clue which one I'm supposed to be going to.

So yeah, I'm feeling really positive about this one...

On your marks...

It's taken me 3 years, but I've finally started a blog. Weird, huh - I've been writing a diary on and off for 4 years or so, since I first went travelling (it started as a travelogue, really) - constantly sound off about everything under the sun, and spend a fair amount of time on a computer, but never got round to combining the elements into one easy-to-mock package. Just plain laziness, I reckon, 'cause it's not like I don't have anything I want to say. One of those things that ends up on the bottom of any list you have going, regardless of what else is on the list. For example:
'Wash car, go for a run, clean sink, descale toilet, chew my own scrotum, start a blog'. Took me two days to get through that list, and I still never got round to the blog...